Cross through Teyvat, and you'll become stronger by taking the hits!

Tartaglia, who was thrown back by the weaker party, crashed around the arena, scattering the dozen or so yellow talismans he carried with him into the Golden House.

"Huh? That's... the Unrestricted Talisman! How come there are so many!"

Paimon, who was hiding in a safe corner, noticed the talismans scattered on the ground.

These talismans are exactly the same as the ones that D'Artagnan had given them before, so that they could take them to seek immortality in the Cloud Realm.

"As expected, the Fools are indeed trying to replicate the Unhindered Talisman."

Ying bent down to pick up the Hundred Taboos Talisman that had just flown to her feet.

But before she could touch the Unfettered Talisman, all the talismans rose into the air and flew towards D'Artagnan.

"Cough cough..."

"After disarming the Demon King, think about what you just said, Lu Li. You already knew the Rock God wasn't dead? The Immortal Ancestor's demise was just a hoax?"

D'Artagnan clutched his chest and stood up from the ground, surrounded by more than a dozen taboo-free talismans, and looked at Lu Li.

"Of course, I haven't witnessed the fall of a demon god, but I've at least heard that if a demon god truly dies, the power it loses will cause immense damage to the surrounding area, let alone the Rock King Emperor."

Lu Li answered affirmatively, then pointed at D'Artagnan.

"A sheer cliff, towering a thousand feet high!"

The next moment, the rock ridge was summoned from beneath Dadalia's feet.

However, the same move didn't work on him. The moment he saw Lu Li raise his finger, he used the soles of his feet to jump lightly, landing steadily on the generated rock ridge instead of being directly launched into the air.

"I see. I was wondering why I felt like something was missing. Looks like I really was tricked by the Geo Archon..."

D'Artagnan, standing on the rocky ridge, was somewhat annoyed, and then raised one hand.

"I'm sorry, Lu Li, but as I said before, if the Empress wants it, I will take it, by any means necessary."

"I will use the Unfettered Talisman and the power bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress to temporarily release the Rock Spear Seal of Lonely Cloud Pavilion. You better not die in battle, because I don't believe I can't break your defense when we meet again."

With that, D'Artagnan activated the Unbound Talisman that surrounded him, giving Luminous and Paimon, who had just learned what he was about to do, little time to react.

However, when he activated the Unrestricted Talisman, he noticed that Lu Li's expression was unusually calm, even somewhat sympathetic...

"Sigh, how do you know that having you release the demon god isn't part of the Rock God's plan?"

Lu Li, who had already put down his ice shield, shrugged. This was also the reason why he let Dadalia continue talking without actually going up to interrupt him.

He felt that even if he went up and defeated D'Artagnan, the Unfettered Talisman might take flight on its own, fly over and break the seal on Lonely Cloud Pavilion, and then pin the blame on D'Artagnan.

After all, the arrival of all the immortals from Jueyun Karst in Liyue today to demand an explanation is the perfect opportunity to test the Geo Archon who is determined to abdicate, and he cannot afford to miss it.

"...?"

D'Artagnan's pupils contracted, as if he had thought of something, but at that moment the power of the Unrestrained Talisman had already surged uncontrollably into the sky and disappeared into the Golden House.

"Damn it... Could it really be as you said...?"

Finally realizing something was wrong, he gritted his teeth, then took a step back and used the power of the water element to propel himself away from the golden house.

"Hmm... So what exactly happened? What did you just do, young master?"

Seeing that D'Artagnan had actually escaped, Paimon approached, somewhat bewildered.

Dadalia had just spoken to Lu Li, leaving the other two out of the conversation, which is why they didn't quite understand what she was saying.

"Now is not the time to explain, let's talk as we walk."

After Lu Li finished speaking, he hurriedly headed towards the exit of the Golden House, and Ying and Paimon had no choice but to follow.

……

After the golden house's light shot into the sky, the entire Yunlai Sea was shrouded in dark clouds, and the once calm sea surface began to boil again, far exceeding the commotion caused by Oser's burning power that night.

The water flow began to accelerate, and the entire Yunlai Sea transformed into a giant whirlpool. Countless waterspouts on the sea surface were sucked into the air, instantly turning into a torrential downpour that enveloped the world.

Then, five enormous heads, seemingly made of water and resembling sea serpents or eels, emerged from the sea.

Fortunately, since Liyue Harbor was temporarily closed for a period of time after the Ascendant Ceremony, there have been no ships coming and going on the sea in the past few days, so no casualties have been caused on the dangerous sea.

Such a huge commotion naturally caught the attention of the Immortal of Jueyun Pavilion and the Seven Stars of Liyue.

The immortals, who were originally accusing the Liyue Sept of seizing power, sensed the aura of the demon god and immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. They had no choice but to temporarily put aside their differences and decide to fight the enemy together.

Under Ningguang's control, the entire Qunyu Pavilion flew towards the sky above Yunlai Sea.

As the Jade Pavilion flew over Liyue Harbor, a floating stone platform in Liyue Harbor rose into the air and chased after the Jade Pavilion.

On the floating stone platform, Lu Li was standing right in the middle.

"Lu Li, can't you just turn your shield down a bit?!"

Because the shield could only go out and not in, Ying and Paimon were almost squeezed out of the small floating stone platform while Lu Li was maintaining the Jade Shield.

"There's no other way. This is already the smallest shield range. I didn't bring an umbrella, so this is the only option. Do you expect me to get soaked in the rain with you all?"

Lu Li shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest.

The birth of Oser caused a downpour throughout Liyue Harbor, but Lu Li, who was inside the Jade Shield, was completely unaffected, while Ying and Paimon were soaked to the bone.

"You [winter-cursing swearer]!"

Paimon was so angry that he repeated the words that D'Artagnan had just used to berate Lu Li.

"Paimon, you can't swear."

"Oh……"

Hearing Paimon's words, Luminous, who was squeezed to the edge of the floating platform, reminded Paimon, who had no choice but to shut up.

"Thinking about it carefully, Lu Li, if you stand in the middle, you're taking up the entire floating platform, aren't you? If you stand on the edge, the shields will be squeezed out a lot, and we can stand properly, right?"

Ying then looked at the jade shield on Lu Li's body and came to this conclusion.

But before she and Paimon could ask Lu Li to give up his place, the floating platform had already stopped around the Jade Pavilion.

The two quickly jumped onto the Qunyu Pavilion, and Lu Li followed.

After glancing at the group of immortals, Lu Li decided to remove the jade shield from his body and use his ice elemental power to condense an ice umbrella in his hand.

"?"

Seeing this, Ying and Paimon, who were about to rush over to meet him, both turned to look at him, as if asking why he hadn't gotten an umbrella sooner.

Keep in mind that they were completely soaked, and had just been squeezed and made uncomfortable by the Jade Shield.

"As the saying goes, men and women should not touch each other; you must understand my difficulties."

Lu Li spoke with an upright expression, then opened his umbrella and walked over there, leaving the two of them bewildered in the rain.

……

P.S.: I'd love to receive some free gifts for my new book!